Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Hello! Hello! Dave to base.  Hope it’s nothing that I’ve said or didn’t say!  Nitro, Chris, Westy or IanB, Rhonda, Irene ….where are ya?

Dave

Lyndal  ……  I am a car driver, with no connections to trucking.  I am concerned that dangerous car drivers should be able to be formally reported, with some legal weight behind it. I occasionally have contacted Police about a car driver being a silly idiot. I doubt that anything happens as a result. At times they have offered to ring the driver and give them a talking to, which would be wonderful if it did happen.

Have you any thoughts about developing a program, or negotiating an arrangement whereby car drivers who are risking the safety of others (and themselves!) can be formally reported by other drivers; and could be made to account for themselves - for example, three reports and they have to front up before a magistrate to explain themselves?

I agree that unsafe trucks are a valid target, although I think there might be at least as much merit in directing attention to other road users, with the principle that we can all be keeping a watch, not just the police. As an added bonus, it may be helpful if truckies can have a way of complaining about car drivers being idiots: it may make them feel they are being heard, and reduce their frustration, instead of being the ones blamed all the time.

If there is currently a mechanism whereby someone can report a dangerous driving act to the Police, it is surely not widely known, by those wanting to report, and those who might be the subject of a report. The public knowledge of such a mechanism would in itself be a huge deterrent. It would also require police to record and act on the complaint

I would be very happy to discuss this with you further. Ultimately, it would require negotiation to bring some legal obligation to bear, rather than being simply a reporting facility.

FD
 
Regards FD

Sitting in my office reading the emails that flow through the COASTTOCOAST100 website is a task I enjoy enormously.  Some I respond to  ….. other I leave to readers.  For almost 12 months now, contributors have entered into a lengthy dialogue sharing their experiences, opinions, suggesions and ideas on just how we can stem the carange on our roads.  This conversation between ALL road users has been an enormously invaluable exercise - one I believe will continue as we all search for answers.

In 2007, more than 1,400 men, women and children died on our roads.  Road crashes remain the largest killer of Australians between the ages of 1 and 44 - not cancer, not heart attacks - road crashes.  Thousands more were severly injured and will NEVER recover their former lives.

We have come a long way over the past 12 months but as you read some of the following letters, I know you will be saddened - as I am - to realise  that we still have such a long way to go.  The attitudes of some of these contributiors to the site are appaling and it doesn’t take a great deal to realise that these shocking attitudes jump into cars/trucks everytime these drivers do.

We still seem to have two camps.  Motorists and truck drivers  …..  and the hatred in some instances is almost palpable.

Thankfully, we are about 6 weeks away from announcing what we hope will become a national road safey initiative - one that we believe will produce an almose instantaneous zero tolerance to dangerous driving.  EVERY responsible road user  in the country can participate regardless of what they drive and know they personally have contributed to saving a life  ….. 

Stay safe  ……  Lyndal Denny

A letter to the growing fraternity of regular transport based contributors and other regular contributors who have joined us to become, almost, a ‘team’ of advisors, researchers and defenders of the driving fraternity..

Basically, to all those who have been wondering what the hell has happened to our beloved moderator lately - well I have successfully tracked her down - and contrary to abounding speculation she has not left town - not even the building.

In her defence and despite her protestations I can reveal a schedule - self imposed as it is - that would leave five express legs, Bris-Melb, a week looking like a walk in the park.

I have canvassed this issue with her and reminded her that - in her esteemed capacity as our moderator and shining light - that like express drivers, she too, has responsibilities to consider, (not to mention our feelings at being left rudderless and floundering without her guiding hand).

She has an image to uphold, (even if it is ours) and needs to consider fatigue management, just as we all do.

Unfortunately our little ‘Mother Trucker’ has committed to a similarly grueling schedule of public servitude for just a little longer however she has promised to get this obsession under control and be more considerate to our needs.

I have made suggestions to her that would assist her to better serve us, her loyal underlings, and be there more often when we need her most and under threat of more serious negotiation (I have images that could be released on this site) she will rearrange her timetable so that our posts will be moderated in time for the weekend.

The reason I suggested this is the fact that those of us who are away through the week can get onto replies etc on their days off and faster replies will mean more posts, more views and more ideas for those commenting on, or looking to, this site, for answers, advice etc., and that serves the site to achieve our ends.

It is intriguing, isn’t it, how your involvement in this site get’s you feeling that you are a part of something and can’t wait to get home and check out what has been said in your absence and have your say.

Remember, a healthy debate is an active debate!

I have unselfishly taken it upon myself, in your interests, and at great personal cost, to more closely observe and better regulate the community based interests and socially unjust issues that Lyndal takes on. 

To this end, I ask you all to get busy on the key board and inundate the site with your posts and keep her so busy at home that she won’t have time for distractions to the cause.  Look forward to hearing from you all more regularly.

CU
Westy

I too have been the subject of intimidating truck behaviour such as tailgating on the Pacific Highway both day and night. The worst was a ‘mad man’ of a driver who tailgated me south of Woodburn to near Maclean at night. I was sandwiched between the truck and a slower driver in front and no reasonable opportunity to pass the car in front for some considerable time. In addition, in Nov 2007 I was recently forced to brake hard in an overtaking lane between Kiama and Gerringong when a B - Double fuel truck overtook me on the inside lane (uphill) and cut across my lane. Had I not taken evasive action I would have been either crushed under the truck and or possibly incinerated!
 
These a but a few examples of potentially lethal behaviour that truck drivers perform every day on the nations roads. No matter what systems are put into trucks they either are eventually manipulated or removed in due course. Note the 100 kph speed governors. Whatever happened to them?
 
The trucking industry is clearly out of control. Look at the delays inconvenience the 2 truck accidents caused on the F3 recently. I noted both truckies were wearing thongs - clearly a breach of road rules for any driver and a safety hazard. This is now common footwear amongst truckies. I bet they didn’t get a ticket for that though!
 
It is clearly time a complete reappraisal now commence for the long distance freight transport task in Australia - particularly in the eastern states, with a view to transferral of a significant proportion of freight from road to rail. This can occur in several ways but requires both state and federal governments to get real on this issue. There are far too many anomalies and safety issues to discuss here but rail is at a clear disadvantage in terms of competitiveness due to the lack of a level playing field when it comes to road safety and enforcement compared to the strict codes of safety etc enforced on the rail industry.Yet rail is more efficient, safer and by far more environmentally friendly. Just 1 standard freight train between Sydney and Brisbane can remove up to 150 single semi trailers and save the nations environment by about 50 tonnes of diesel as well as reduce the nations reliance of imported fuels
 
Now would be an appropriate time for Coast to Coast 100 and the Tweed Rail Society to work together collaboratively to push this issue onto the agenda of the states and federal transport ministers. If I can be of any further assistance in regard to this issue please don’t hesitate to call. In the meantime please checkout the website of the Tweed Rail Society. Go to www.tweedrail.org.au
 
Kind Regards, Phil Mackenzie
President, Tweed Rail Society Inc

Highway’s Killing Fields moving North
Sunanda Creagh Urban Affairs Reporter
October 5, 2007
Printed with permission of the Sydney Morning Herald

THE killing fields of the Pacific Highway have shifted north. This is the observation of NRMA’s director of motoring services, Wendy Machin, who has just toured the entire stretch of the notorious highway - from the upgraded dual carriageways in the south to the narrow, winding road in the north.

“Before, people would have their accidents south of Taree. Then they were happening in Taree, and now they are north of Taree,” Ms Machin said yesterday. “A lot of those black spots have been improved because there are more dual carriageways in the south.”
Ms Machin’s trip followed an NRMA audit of the highway, which concluded that 40 per cent of the road is still only one lane in each direction without safe overtaking  opportunities. The audit pinpointed 32 black spots and 191 “black lengths” - stretches of road where three or more crashes have happened - from three years of crash data. It identified Banora Point, Ballina, Coffs Harbour, Ewingsdale and Ocean Shores as the worst of these stretches.
“There’s no doubt the accidents are moving a bit further north,” Ms Machin said.
Dual carriageways have made the southern half of the highway safer, but have also meant drivers can travel further before they get tired. Then, fatigue and poor roads combine to create a dangerous cocktail.
“People leave Sydney in the early hours to get away for holidays and then they get tired. At Port Macquarie and onwards there’s a lot of very poor road - a lot of single carriageway with trucks and traffic mixing together,” Ms Machin said.
The population growth in the far north has resulted in more cars at the same time as trucking companies realise that the Pacific Highway is quicker and cheaper than the New England Highway they previously used.
“The volumes of traffic are increasing and the standard of the road hasn’t been upgraded to cope,” she said. “There’s a federal election coming up and we want to get both parties committing to finishing the upgrade of the Pacific Highway we asked for all those years ago.”
The Prime Minister yesterday announced $2 billion in federal funding for the Bruce Highway in Queensland. The Federal Government is expected to announce a similar amount for the Pacific Highway before the election.

Message: I wonder if Ms Machin has ever considered driver education as a way of reducing accident statistics along with upgrading our roadways.  You can fix the roadway all you like but if you don’t educate the public how to traverse them correctly the change in accident statistics may well be negligible.
Kerry

Message:
I just wanted to say a big thank you for starting this campaign.  I was driving home to Grafton from Coffs Harbour and had to slow from 100km to 80km at that new zone at Moonie (where the new shopping complex is on the highway) and a B-Double came flying up behind me so close that I could only see the grill.  He was angry because he did not want to slow to 80, but I did not want to speed. As we got to the overtaking lane outside the Coffs Zoo he over took me then swung the back trailer over toward my car on his way past which ran me half off the road.

By this point I was shaking and almost crying.  When he got completely past and I got back on the road behind him he was sticking his finger up at me out his window. I had 3 small children and my mother in the car!!. I got the number plate and called the Grafton police (thinking that they would pull him over at Grafton). I called the police when I got home to see what happened and they told me that they didn’t do anything because they were too busy and that there was nothing they could do about it unless I take him to court and make a formal statement.  Is this true?
Lyn

Message:
I wish I knew about this website before today (heard you on ABC radio.)  I have enough stories to crash this website ….. having traveled around Australia towing caravan and camp trailer from being run of the road (more than once) …. being abused… wanting to pull over and fight …. but I don’t have any number plates so I no use telling them but I know about this site now…..
John

Message:
It was interesting listening to ACA on Monday evening as I have been on a letter writing campain with my local member for Swansea NSW since the last elections on this very matter and the possibility of B tiples being introduced to our roads.  I travel the F3 and the pacific highway north to Foster and it is becoming very dangerous with the heavy vehicle traffic and I coninue to ask when did it become legal for trucks to exceed 12o km per hour and to be able to drive in all 3 lanes.  I would enjoy joining your campain
John

Message:
You are to be praised for having the courage to take these rogue operators on. I have been campaigning against the proliferation and operations of trucking companys for nigh on 10 years in the Central Qld district [Rockhampton/Livingstone/Fitzroy area]. Because I campaigned against the proliferation of heavy vehicles on our highways/CBD urban streets and in the urban areas with regard to operating from and parking,I was subjected to harassment and threats.
Local Authorities and Politicians are of no use even if they acknowledge the problem. Police will not enforce the Qld Traffic reg’s so you are up against the odds from square one. I have kept files, newspaper clipping[heavy vehicle accidents and deaths caused],letters to editor [local paper], letters to authorities for quite some years. Yes! I intend to purchase some stickers from the local Ballina Lions club for use here in Qld.and spread the word. Thank you for you have given me a push to carry on.
David